Another Day In Paradise
by Captain-Rogue-River
Summary: Paradise in the Dawson household.


Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Rose, the _Titanic, _or Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. I DO own, Cora, Josephine, Tomas, Fabrizio, Abbie and Red.

Summary: Paradise at the Dawson household.

* * *

A LITTLE BACKGROUND INFO

Jack Dawson: 27-Years-Old

Rose Dawson: 24-Years-Old

Cora Angel & Josephine Liberty (Twins): 6-years-old

Tomas Huckleberry: 4-years-old

Fabrizio Andrew: 6-months-old

This is set 7 years after Titanic. Jack lives!

* * *

Jack Dawson had done the impossible, he had survived the _Titanic. It_ didn't seem impossible until the cold hard facts were put right in front of you: 6 out of 1500 had survived and that was it. Now he and his wife, Rose, another survivor of that night, and their four children lived in a small house in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

_The kids screaming, phone ringing  
Dog barking at the mailman bringing  
That stack of bills - overdue  
Good morning baby, how are you?  
Got a half hour, quick shower  
Take a drink of milk but the milk's gone sour  
My funny face makes you laugh  
Twist the top on and I put it back  
There goes the washing machine  
Baby, don't kick it.  
I promise I'll fix it  
Long with about a million other things_

Jack lied in bed on a Friday morning with a pillow pulled over his head. He wasn't trying to suffocate himself, but he was holding the pillow over his head so tightly one might think that was what he was trying to do.

"Mama! Mama! Tomas just took my food!" Cora yelled at the top of her lungs from the kitchen downstairs.

"Nuh-uh! Wasn't me! Honest!" Tomas chimed in, in self-defense. Anyone that knew him knew he was the spitting image of his father. That meant that Tomas probably did do it.

"Mama! Mr. Thatcher is here. He wants to know if you and Daddy are gonna pay your grocery tab this month." Jack heard Josephine tell her mother downstairs.

"Tell Mr. Thatcher to put it on the table and Daddy and I will look at it later. And is Red barking at him? If so, can you put her out? She'll wake your Dad and Fabri." Rose instructed calmly. She was more muffled than the rest of the kids meaning that she was in the kitchen.

"Sure Mommy!" Josephine yelled as the door creaked open. Then the same door slammed shut.

"Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!Wahhah!" That would be Fabri's way of announcing to the world he was up.

Jack could see Rose cringe in his mind's eye. She was probably muttering something under her breath about strangling the girl. Jack flipped over onto his back and tucked the pillow under his head in one fluid motion. Then he turned his head to look at the small clock on his nightstand.

'Shit! 7:30! I gotta be at the wood shop at 8:00! If I'm late again Jeff is gonna kill me!' Jack thought as he jumped out of bed and pulled on a pair of dirty, blue pants on and ran down to the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time, and hoping down the last five steps.

This landed him in the living room so he walked into the kitchen. He walked in to see Rose, in a black skirt and blue top, standing by the counter rocking a very unhappy Fabri in her arms. Cora and Tomas were sitting at the counter eating some oats. Josephine wasn't back in yet from taking Red, the blue-tick hound, out.

" Good morning, Honey." Rose said as she looked at Jack from Fabri.

"Good morning, Baby, how are ya?" Jack asked as he walk across the floor to kiss his wife on the cheek.

"Mmmm. Aside from the vomit on my robe? Just fine." Rose said as she sat Fabri down in a bassinet and walked into the room where she washed the clothes. She dipped her robe in water and started to run through the wrung to get out the excess water when the handle literally fell a part."Absurd wash board! We need a new one, Jack!" Rose yelled as she kicked it so hard that Jack heard her boot clang against the metal.

"Baby, don't kick it! I'll fix it." Jack informed as he mentally added it on the list, after the back door, the loose floor boards... And the list never stops. He reached into the ice box right in front of him and pulled out a glass jug of milk. He pressed the bottle to his lips and took a huge gulp. When he spit it out all over the kitchen because it was sour it was a huge crowd pleaser. Rose giggled and Cora and Tomas laughed uncontrollably. After, he wasn't sure what to do with it, so, he put the cap back on and stuck it back in the box and raced upstairs to take a bath._  
_

_Well, it's ok. It's so nice  
It's just another day in paradise  
Well, there's no place that  
I'd rather be  
Well, it's two hearts  
And one dream  
I wouldn't trade it for anything  
And I ask the Lord every night  
For just another day in paradise  
_

He set off for work wearing his black pants and white shirt, at 7:50, just enough time to get to work. He worked at a wood shop where he carved images into wood. On his way he couldn't help but think about the family he had. He would not trade the life that he had for anything in the world. It may not have been ritzy or top-of-the-line, but this was his paradise and he wouldn't change for any amount of money. He would never want to be anywhere else unless the whole family was there. It was the dream he and Rose had worked at for seven years and it was perfect. He often found himself praying for this paradise to continue for just one more day._  
_

_Friday, you're late  
Guess we'll never make our dinner date  
At the restaurant you start to cry  
Baby, we'll just improvise  
Well, plan B looks like  
Dominoes' pizza in the candle light  
Then we'll tippy toe to our room  
Make a little love that's overdue  
But somebody had a bad dream  
Mama and daddy  
Can me and my teddy  
Come in to sleep in between?  
_

Well, Jack got off at six and went home to change so he and Rose could go out to eat. This was a Friday night tradition at the Dawson household that started a couple of months after Josephine and Cora were born. Of course the biggest mistake you could make with Jack and Rose was tell them that they didn't love their children. Because they did, more than words could say. They did this so that the fire that Rose had could stay burning. Plus, they just needed the time to be with each other.

"Daddddddddyyyyy!" Jack heard from a voice that sounded like Josephine. He knew it was her when he was tackled extremely hard, to the point where he almost fell over.

"Hey, Josephine. Where's your mom?" Jack questioned as he pried the girl from his leg and lifted her up.

" She went to da grocery." Josephine said as Jack walked over to the couch that was along the left wall and sat her down.

"Then who's watchin' you?" Jack asked as he sat down next to her.

"Abbie." She answered as she reached up and played with a shock of red hair that dangled in front of her face.

Just then Abbie walked in carrying Fabri. She was about 23-years-old, she had long brown hair pulled back into a braid that went half way down her back, She was about Rose's height, she wore a pink sundress and old white boots the tops of which disappeared under her dress.

"Hiya, Jack." Abbie greeted as she walked over to him to hand Fabri over seeing as how Jack had already opened his arms for the baby.

"Hey, Abbie. You can go ahead an' go." He responded after receiving Fabri from her.

"Are you sure 'bout that one? I mean, no offense Jack, but it'd be four against one." Abbie asked as her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"I'll be fine. They're _my _kids after all. Plus, I can take anything they throw at me, I'm a survivor." Jack said in a joking tone as he smiled at the baby that stretched out his arm to pull on Jack's hair.

"If you say so. I've been here for an hour, that means you owe me $1. But, after I take in my 'Friend Discount', it's...Free!" Abbie announced as she untied the apron she'd burrowed from Rose. She was always finding ways to get around the whole Jack-paying-her thing.

"Abbie, are you sure? I mean, aren't you saving up for a wedding? Those things aren't cheap." Jack said as he still slipped his hand to his back pocket to get his wallet.

"Don' worry. Already paid for by Will." Abbie offered as she disappeared out the door before Jack could protest further.

Jack looked at the clock that hung on the wall above the couch and got nervous. It read 6:30 and their reservations at a new restaurant was at 7:30. He knew that he should've just told Abbie to stay that way she'd make more money than if she'd come back when they left. He was knocked out of his thoughts when Tomas ran up holding a ball for Jack to roll at him. The hours past by uneventfully and Jack tucked all the kids in at 8:00, since that was their bed time. Finally, as he was tucking in Cora he heard the door creek open and close just as slowly.

"Hello, Jack." Rose greeted when he walked downstairs. It was obvious why she was late: aside from the 10 bags of food she carried she had about two bolts of fabric tucked under each arm.

"Umm, Rose, do you know what today is?" Jack asked as he leaned on the archway the connected the living room and kitchen and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Thursday?" She questioned as she put some cans in the cupboard.

"Uh, no try Friday." He offered as he pushed himself off the wall to put away the food with Rose.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry, Jack. I got so busy I forgot this was Friday. I saw that this fabric was 50 percent off and just lost track of time looking at the colors. We missed our reservations didn't we?" Rose fervently explained and pondered as she sat the can on the counter and started to cry.

Jack sat down the last can in his hand down and walked over to cheer up Rose. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tucked her head under his and started making quiet shushing noises. "That's alright. We'll improvise with a Plan B, I reckon." He said as he walked over to the stove, pulled down, reached in, and pulled out a pizza. After he sat the pizza on the counter he walked over to the ice box and pulled out two Cokes. Then, he balanced the pizza on the palm of his right hand while he carried the glass Coke bottles in his left as he led Rose through the kitchen. He put on a false air similar to the one that night in the cargo bay. "Right this way, Miss." He said as he took her upstairs, past the washroom, and to a small door which he opened with his elbow. There, out on the balcony, was a small wood table, two unlit candles in the middle, he sat the pizza down.

"This is so amazing." Rose sad as Jack came back and hooked his arm in hers.

Jack just smiled as he helped Rose with her chair. He lit the candles and served the food.

By the time they were done eating they were sharing a kiss that they both knew would lead to something much more. They tip-toed back into the house, past the Cora and Josephine's room, and Jack slipped ahead to push open the door.

"It's been a while." Jack whispered as he shut the door afraid that someone might hear and ruin the moment. He walked back to Rose and hugged her.

This moment was cut short with a _knock-knock _on the door. "Mommy? Daddy?" Was heard from the other side of the door.

Jack sighed just a little and hung his head in defeat. "Yeah Cora?" He asked as he walked over and opened the door.

"I had a bad dream." Cora stated with a hint of fear in her voice.

"What happened?" Rose comforted as she walked over to Cora and squatted so she was even with her.

"There was a big purple dragon chasing me. It was screaming something like 'I want a carrot'." Cora informed as she hugged the ragged teddy bear that Jack had given her when she was born.

"That's a compliment, Cora. He thought your hair was so red and pretty that you were a carrot." Jack complimented as he repressed a laugh and walked over to pull a pair of sleeping clothes out of the dresser. He and Rose went and changed and came back.

"Can me an' my teddy sleep in between?" Cora asked as Jack pulled back the covers and got in on the far side of the bed.

"Of course." Rose said as she pulled the blankets in and let Cora climb in before she got under the covers.

"G' night, Rose. Night, Cora. " Jack said as he scooted over to the very edge of the bed to make room for Cora.

"Good night, Jack. Good night, Cora." Rose said as she too scooted over for Cora.

"Night, Mama and Daddy." Cora said as she spread out in the middle clutching her teddy and falling back to sleep.

__

_  
For just another day in paradise  
Well, it's the kids screaming. The phone ringing  
Just another day_

Jack woke up the next morning with a major cramp in his neck due to sleeping in an awkward position. He flipped over onto his back noticing Cora and Rose were no longer in bed. He heard the kids screaming incoherent things but he also heard Rose saying something to someone at the door about paying the bill as soon as he got paid again. Then he heard Red barking at that person as they started to leave. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

"Thank you. Can you keep paradise comin' for one more day?" He asked then jumped out of bed to face the day ahead of him.

_Well, it's Friday. You're late  
Oh yeah, it's just another day in paradise_

* * *

A/N: Well there it is. I just had this song stuck in my head and thought of Jack and Rose. Sorry if it's long.

R&R it isn't nice to read and run.

By the way: Coke was invented in 1883. Pizza was invented in 1889. This story took place in 1919. So those things existed when this story happened.

This song was _Just Another Day In Paradise _By Phil Vassar.


End file.
